Hassan Hall - Pro Football Rumors

Browns Trim Roster To 53

August 29th, 2023 at 10:41pm CST by Ben Levine

The Browns found a new kicker today, but on roster deadline day, that obviously wasn’t their only move. The organization made a number of cuts to get to the 53-man roster limit:

Released:

G Michael Dunn
DT Trysten Hill
DT Maurice Hurst
RB John Kelly

Waived:

CB Lorenzo Burns
WR Jaelon Darden
RB/WR Demetric Felton
RB Hassan Hall
WR Mike Harley
DE Sam Kamara
DE Jeremiah Martin
S Tanner McCalister
TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden
QB Kellen Mond
DE Lonnie Phelps
LB Charlie Thomas
DE Isaiah Thomas
DT Tommy Togiai
WR Austin Watkins

Placed on reserve/NFI:

WR Michael Woods

At one point, Demetric Felton looked like he could be a worthy backup to Nick Chubb, but the versatile offensive weapon has fallen down the depth chart. The former sixth-round pick had an okay rookie season in 2021, finishing with 205 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. However, he was limited to only three touches in eight games last season.

Kellen Mond seemed like a long shot to make the roster, and the Browns ultimately decided to role with only two quarterbacks in Deshaun Watson and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Mond has only gotten into one regular season game, completing two passes for the Vikings in 2021.

Browns Sign 9 UDFAs

May 12th, 2023 at 2:57pm CST by Adam La Rose

With rookie minicamps taking place this weekend, many teams which have not already done so have unveiled their undrafted free agent classes. Here is the breakdown of the rookies who will look to make the Browns’ 90-man roster:

CB Caleb Biggers (Boise State)
LB Mohamoud Diabate (Utah)
TE Thomas Greaney (Albany)
RB Hassan Hall (Georgia Tech)
S Ronnie Hickman (Ohio State)
DE Jeremiah Martin (Washington)
S Tanner McCalister (Ohio State)
DE Lonnie Phelps (Kansas)
LB Charlie Thomas III (Georgia Tech)

The Browns have made a pair of sizeable financial commitments out of this group. One is to Diabate, whom Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets will receive $250K in guaranteed money. That figure ranks amongst the highest handed out in 2023, and will raise expectations for the Utah product in training camp. Diabate spent his first three seasons at Florida, but his most productive pass-rushing campaign came in 2022 with the Utes. He totaled five sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss in 12 games.

Cleveland also earmarked $250K in guarantees for Phelps, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 (Twitter link). The 6-3, 244-pounder put up big numbers in his final season at Miami (Ohio) in 2021, then transferred to Kansas. The step up in competition resulted in a new career high in tackles (57), along with another notable campaign in terms of sacks (seven) and tackles for loss (11.5). Phelps, along with Diabate, will look to give the team added depth in the front seven, a spot which has been a point of emphasis during the offseason.

Greaney put himself on the NFL radar with a career year in 2022. The 6-6, 249-pounder posted a 50-693-9 statline in 11 contests last year, helping earn him FCS second-team All-American honors. The Browns have David Njoku at the top of their TE depth chart, but they have been relatively quiet on the free agent front in adding backups behind him. They also elected not to draft a tight end, which could give Greaney an opportunity to push for a roster spot during the summer.